This time-travelling Stalker total conversion mod is set before the apocalypse

Save the world ahead of time.

GSC Game World's Stalker series is a wonderful collection of genre fluid shooters that're equal parts RPG, horror and survival. The base game has also been subject to a huge number of impressive mods—not least Misery and Lost Alpha—which expand Call of Pripyat in various ways, often upping its difficulty in the process. The latest modification to catch my eye, however, is a little different: it takes place prior to the world's demise.

Wind of Time, from hobbyist akmc47u, begins in 2048 wherein a time machine has been invented. The mod then jumps back to 2014 and tasks players with saving, or at least attempting to save, the planet from nuclear decimation.

"The main action takes place in 2014 and represents the continuation of the original trilogy," explains akmc47u on the mod's ModDB page. "The plot of modification does not lead a player on rails. When you complete the basic tasks, new levels open with additional tasks, some of which [take] players to unique locations."

Here's a look at that in motion:

Fancy any of that? If so download instructions can be found this-a-way. Note that Wind of Time can be played without the Stalker: Call of Pripyat base game.